Roof construction with tile drainage means therefor



April 11, 1967 N. G. JACKSON ROOF CONSTRUCTION WITH TILE DRAINAGE MEANSTHEREFOR Filed Sept. 5, 1964 s sheets-sheet 1 IN VENTOR, A OEMA/V 6.JACKSON BY Z/a/m, 44, fiuwal ATTORNEYS April 1967 N. G. JACKSON3,313,069

ROOF CONSTRUCTION WITH TILE DRAINAGE MEANS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 3, 19643 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR, A aeMA/v 6. mc/(so/v BY ZW/m, W25 {MATTORNEYS Aprii 11, 1967 N. G. JACKSON 3,313,069

ROOF CONSTRUCTION WITH TILE DRAINAGE MEANS THEREFOR Filed Sept. 3, 19643 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR, A aem/l/v 6 J4c/(50 Zm/m, M, wga zzw/mATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,313,069 ROOF CONSTRUCTION WITH TILEDRAINAGE MEANS THEREFOR Norman G. Jackson, 2657 NW. 19th St., FortLanderdale, Fla. 33311 Filed Sept. 3, 1964, Ser. No. 394,292

6 Claims. (Cl. 5224) This invention relates to roof structures and moreparticularly to such structures suitable for use on buildings in mild orwarm climates and where durability, waterproofness, and especiallyattractive appearance are desired.

The invention disclosed in the present specification constitutes amodification of the invention disclosed and claimed in my Patent No.3,133,377, granted May 19, 1964, which provides ornamental finishsuperstructures installed upon a basic waterproof membrane coveringwhich in itself is sufiicient to afford normal protection against theelements but which may be of an unsatisfactory appearance esthetically.The basic covering may, for example, include alternate layers of roofingpaper and asphalt or bitumen topped with an aggregate such as gravel orcrushed stone. The superposed tile paneling, which may well be ofpre-cast concrete, transforms such a drab roof structure into one ofbeauty and durability. The panel may be finished off in pure white or inpastel or any other coloring in harmony with the tropical orsemi-tropical settings where such roofs find their greatest appeal.

The present invention contemplates the provision of novel and improvedmeans for facilitating the drainage of water past the tiling, lighteningthe weight of the tile units, and effecting other economies inconstruction, while at the same time preserving the principles of thegeneric invention in respect to maintaining the over-all pristine whiteor pastel tropical appearance of the roof as a uniform whole but with aminimum of actual area coverage.

In the use of spaced blocks or tile panel units superposed upon aconventional waterproof basic roofing membrane, some difliculties havebeen encountered when insufiicient drainage has been provided for flowpast the rows of tiling; occasionally water might be dammed upexcessively and flow over the tops of the rows, or if it puddles behindthe panels, it tends to saturate the base portions of the tiles andeventually soak up into the panel face with resulting unsightlystaining.

In carrying out these broad objects, the invention in its preferredembodiment contemplates the use of lightweight elongated tile units ofrelatively soft machinable concrete or similar material, each tile unithaving two or more feet each adapted to set upon the basic roofingwhereby the greater span of the unit is clear of contact with said basicroofing.

It is further contemplated, within one phase of the present invention toprovide a somewhat narrower base for the tiles, reducing or eliminatingthe usual rearwardly or forwardly extending base flanges, and thusfacilitating the laying of the tiles or panels truly and eliminating theplastering of joints between adjacent tiles.

Further objects of the invention involve the provision of a roofingsystem of the class in which all of the tile units whether eave, field,or gable, are provided with forward or outwardly facing base flangesgiving them a somewhat L-shaped section; the correlating of the tileswith the usual gravel stop for concealing the drainage slots, and thecementing of the tiles by the positioning of the dabs or mortar inwardlyof the terminal feet at one or both ends of the drainage passages.

Other objects and features of novelty will be apparent from thefollowing specification in connection with the accompanying drawings inwhich one embodiment of the invention is illustrated by way of example.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a corner portion of aroof structure embodying the principles of the invention, as seen from ahigh level off of the roof area and at an angle to the rectilinearoutlines of the building;

. FIGURE 2. is a perspective view of the roof corner portion taken fromabove the roof looking diagonally downwardly toward the intersection ofthe gable end with the eaves;

FIGURE 3 is a view in vertical section of the portion of the roof shownin FIGURES 1 and 2 taken at right angles to the eaves and parallel withthe gable end, as viewed on line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a substantially vertical sectional view taken on line 44through the gable end;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of one of the gable end tile panel unitsshowing a portion of the bottom of the tile;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing another embodimentof the invention;

FIGURE 7 is a view from the same vantage point as in FIGURE 2, of such amodified form of the invention; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view like FIGURE 3 of the modified tiling.

In the form shown in FIGURES 15 of the drawings, the building wallstructure is suggested at 10, a side wall surface being indicated at 11and a front wall at 12. The basic roof framing structure may includesuch elements as the facing piece 15 and the corresponding gable endpiece 16 and the roof deck or sheathing shown best in FIGURES 3 and 4 at20.

An overlying laminated waterproof membrane structure is superposed uponthe sheathing 20 and is indicated in its entirety by the referencenumeral 25. This membrane may be of any conventional or suitableconstruction, for example, in accordance with the laminar structuredescribed in my co-pending application wherein multiple layers ofroofing felt and bitumen or asphalt are employed surmounted by a floodcoat of bitumen in which is embedded the surfacing gravel, rock, oraggregate suggested at 26 in the drawings.

Such basic waterproof roofing structure is frequently finished OK at theedges, especially at the eaves, with an angular metal strip usuallydesignated a gravel stop. The use of such a strip is contemplatedalternatively in the application of the present invention, but for thesake of simplicity it has been omitted from some of the drawings and theroof edges shown merely as terminating with the lam'inations justdescribed.

In conformity with the broad purpose of this invention and the parentinvention disclosed in my copending application, whereby forwardlydisposed laterally extending panels conceal considerable areas of thebasic roof structure and give the appearence of a completely tiled roof,the superstructure of the present invent-ion includes the cave panelcomposed of tile units designated 30, the field panel units designated32 which extend in successive tiers rearwardly and upwardly of the roof,and the gable end wall panel the individual units of which are indicatedby the reference numerals 35.

The field blocks or tiles 32 will be described first with referenceparticularly to FIGURES l, 2 and 3 of the drawings. Each of the tileunits 32 is provided with a foot 36 at each end which raises theintermediate bottom portion of the span of the tile sufiiciently fromthe surface of the basic roofing to permit freer flow of the drainagewater thereunder as indicated by the arrows a. Each of these feet 36 isfirmly embedded in a small bed of mortar or grouting indicated at 38.The ends of adjacent field tiles 32 are abutted as at 39 and due to thefact that there are no pronounced forwardly or rearwardly extending baseflanges on the tiles the tiles can be adjusted within the beds of mortarwhile the latter are still soft, to fit true with respect to theadjacent tiles. In fact, by preference, the bottom width of the tile orpanel unit in the direction of the ridge-to-eave extent of the roof(which is the maximum width of the unit) is considerably less than thevertical dimension of the unit. For example, in the case of a tile orpanel unit of a height of from say eight inches to ten inches, thecrosssectional width at the bottom of the unit would most appropriatelybe from about three inches to about four and one-half inches. It will beseen therefore that any slight tilting adjustment of a tile to conformto the position of an abutting tile may be made while the mortar isstill soft without such difiiculty as would arise if the tile wereformed with a wide base flange.

As shown particularly in FIGURE 3 of the drawings, the field tile isprovided with converging front and rear walls 40 and 41 and a narrow topsurface 42 which can be either bevelled or disposed in a horizontalplane. The front wall 40 preferably inclines slightly rearwardly of thevertical and the rear wall 41 may incline forwardly giving the tile asubstantially prismatic appearance.

The eave tile or panel 30 differs from the field tile 32 in that it hasa forwardly and downwardly projecting lower lip or skirt portion 45which at least partially conceals the forward edge of the mainwaterproof roofing base 25. Besides being inclined somewhat the portion45 of the tile is offset from the main body portion as suggested at 46.

The eave tile 30, like the field tile 32, is provided with feet 48 ateach end thereof leaving the intermediate span of the tile 30 raisedslightly from the basic roof surface as at 49. One of the feet 48 isindicated in FIGURE 3 of the drawings and the mortar or grouting bed 38in which it is embedded is also indicated in FIGURES 2 and 3. Not onlyis the intermediate portion 49 of the bottom surface of the tile 30raised above the surface of the roof, but the intermediate portion ofthe skirt or overhanging lip 45 is also spaced away from the forwardedge of the basic roof by having the intermediate portion of the rearpart of the skirt 45 cut away as indicated at 50 in FIG- URE 3 so thatthe drainage water will have a clear and unobstructed passage beneaththe intermediate portion of the tile and thence downwardly behind theskirt 45 at the eaves of the roof, the end portions of the skirt servingas abutments as at 45 to maintain the intermediate portion of the skirtproperly spaced from the roof edge.

The main body portion of the eave tile 30 may be of the generallyprismatic configuration as the field tiles, and the angularity of thetiles with respect to the plane of the basic roof surface is such thatthe general aspect of the cave tiles is that of a vertically disposedpanel rather than a forwardly inclined one.

At the gable ends of the roof structure the gable tiles 35, as shownbest in FIGURE 4 of the drawings, are also provided with a dependingskirt portion 52 similar to the skirt 45 on the eave tiles 30 and alsoprovided with a rearwardly cut-away intermediate portion 54 for drainagepurposes. The intermediate bottom portions of the gable tiles 45 arealso raised as indicated at 55 due to the provision of feet similar tothoseemployed in the other tile but of variable extent, such as in thecase of the forward foot 56 shown in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4, and the quiteelongated footing 58 shown best in FIGURES 2 and 3. Thus, the elevationof only a portion of the bottom of the gable tile as at 55 serves toprovide a sufficient channel to take care of the relatively minordrainage at the gable ends of the roof.

The provision of the elongated foot 58 permits the casting of the gableend tile units in maximum lengths to take care of the widest spacing ofthe eave and field tiles, and

4 then cropping the tail ends of the gable tiles to shorten them to fitsmaller spacings. Thus, the rearward footing provision for the gabletiles is preserved regardless of variations in length within practicallimits.

It will be noted from an inspection of FIGURE 4 that the gable end walltile unit is preferably disposed in a generally vertical position, theouter walls of the skirt and of the main body portion of the. tile beingvertical. The rear surface may be inclined as indicated at 59 in thegeneral conformity to the prismatic section of most of the tiles.

There remains only to be described the abutment of the eave and fieldtiles with the gable end tiles and this may be accomplished either bybevelling the adjacent ends of the respective tiles as suggested at 60in FIGURE 1, where the visible rear portions of the adjacent respectivefeet 48 and 56 are considerably shortened due to the cutting of the tileends on a 45 angle. This is clearly illustrated at the top of FIGURE 2of the drawings.

As illustrated at the right-hand end of FIGURE 2 where the field tile 32joins the nearest gable end tile 35 there is a right angle abutmentconnection where the end of the tile 32 is ground off to conform to theprofile of the rear surface of the gable tile 35 and thus a portion ofthe forward foot 56 of the gable tile is obscured leaving only a minorportion exposed as shown, or even con cealing the leg entirely, whereasthe leg 36 of the tile 32 is shown in its full extent.

These abutting, junctions may be varied as desired and a right angleabutment may be employed between the eave tile 30 and the adjacent gabletile or a 45 angle interfitting may be effected between the field tile32 and its gable tile 35.

Due to the limited extent of cross-section of these tiles, their feetmay be embedded in the mortar and allowed to be set at a much morereadily adjustable angle than if an extremely long angular flange wereprovided, and thus the interfitting of the abutting edges of the tilesas at 39 can be accomplished much more accurately, and thus preclude thenecessity of plastering the joints. If any minor evening up of thejoints is needed, the panels can be readily sanded since it is preferredthat they be made of light-weight concrete which is relatively soft.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings, the cavetiles are indicated at 100, the field tiles at 101, and the gable endtiles at 102. Each of these tiles ischaracterized by the provision offorward and slightly downwardly inclined base flanges 105. The eave andfield tiles are shown very clearly in vertical section in FIGURE 8 ofthe drawings and the gable tiles 102 are of quite similar configurationexcept for the stepped formation which is clearly depicted in FIGURES 6and 8.

At the junction of the foremost gable tile 102 and the end one of thecave tiles 100, the tiles are mitered as at 108 in similar fashion tothe joining of the corresponding tiles of the earlier describedembodiment as indicated at 60 in FIGURE 1.

All three of these types of tiles are provided with end feet 110 whichare similar to the corresponding feet depicted at 36, 48 and 56 in theearlier described form of the invention. These feet are only ofsufficient height to provide an under-flow or drainage slit orpassageway 112 beneath the central portions of the tiles, just as in thecase of those previously described.

However, in this embodiment, the small dabs or beds of mortar 115 arepreferably disposed at the ends of the drainagle slits 112 and notdirectly beneath the feet 110 (and, of course, this manner of securingthe tiles upon the basic roof structure may be followed in respect totheprismatic tiles illustrated in the earlier figures of drawing). Oneadvantage of this method of securement is that it provides a bettergauge of uniformity of positioning of the tiles with the feet 110resting squarely upon the roof surface. Thus, the levelling need notdepend on the uniformity of thickness of the mortar bed.

In this modified form of the invention, the overhang such as indicatedat 45 in the earlier figures of drawing is omitted in the case of theeaves tiles and the visibility of the water passage slit 112 is obscuredby the gravel stop 120. This gravel stop has a rearwardly directedflange 121 tucked beneath the toe of the tile and an inverted V-shapedupward ridge 122 which is slightly higher than the height of the rainslit 112. The front face 123 of the gravel stop'extends substantiallyflush with the basic roof structure suggested at 124 and an angled apronor flange 125 extends along the lower edge of the gravel stop strip. Ofcourse, it may be preferable to paint the gravel stop in the same coloras the color of the tiles themselves.

Thus, it will be clearly seen, especially as viewed in FIGURE 8, thatthe drainage flow of rain water passes under the slits 112 of the eavestiles and the gable tiles and thence over the gravel stop 120. In manyconstructions, the gravel stop is only about one inch high and thus theupper edgeof the ridge 122 is in most cases somewhat lower than the rearedge of the tile 100, and furthermore openings can be provided in thejunction of the eaves and gable gravel stops at the corners of the roofand prevent any undue accumulation of water behind the gravel stops orbeneath the tiles.

Thus, provision is made for drainage of this roof structure by thepassage of water past the tiles, mainly through the slits 112, withoutthe water damming up and cascading over the tops of the tiles with theresultant staining of the front surfaces.

Various changes and modifications may be made in the embodimentsillustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of theinvention as defined by the following claims.

It will be noted that some of the drainage features are applied to boththe eaves of the roof structure and the edges of the gable ends thereof;thus, where such features :are claimed, it is to be understood that theterm eaves shall be interpreted as broad enough to indicate the actualeaves edge of the structure or the edge extending up a gable end of thestructure.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A building roof construction sloping downwardly and forwardly towardthe eaves and comprising a basic water-resistant covering layer which initself is of a character affording normal protection against theelements but which may be of unsatisfactory appearance esthetically;and, positioned thereon, additional roof covering structure comprising aplurality of substantially horizontally disposed panels extending intransverse directions intersecting the direction of slope of the roof,each panel comprising a wall of substantial vertical dimensions and saidpanels being spaced apart along the slope of the roof leaving uncoveredintervening areas of said basic covering layer; the spacing betweensuccessive panels being such that, taking into consideration the angleof slope of the roof and the height of the panels, the front faces ofsaid panels will conceal the intervening areas of the uncovered basiclayer from view at normal eye level from in front of the building; eachof said panels comprising a plurality of block units disposed end-to-endand each provided with short narrow supporting feet at each endproviding a slightly raised intermediate span, providing a narrow slitbetween the bottom surface of the block unit and the basic roof coveringlayer and extending horizontaly for the major portion of the lateralextent of the span for water drainage, said end supporting feet restingdirectly upon said basic layer, and beds of mortar applied withinportions of said narrow slit to secure the block to the basic layer,said slit thus serving the dual purpose of providing for drainage andfor the anchoring of the block with the feet making direct contact withthe basic layer.

2. A building roof construction sloping downwardly and forwardly towardthe eaves and comprising a basic water-resistant covering layer which initself is of a character affording normal protection against theelements but which may be of unsatisfactory appearance esthetically;and, positioned thereon, additional roof covering structure comprising aplurality of substantially horizontally disposed panels extending intransverse directions intersecting the direction of slope of the roof,each panel comprising a wall of substantial vertical dimensions and saidpanels being spaced apart along the slope of the roof leaving uncoveredintervening areas of said basic covering layer; the spacing betweensuccessive panels being such that, taking into consideration the angleof slope of the roof and the height of the panels, the front faces ofsaid panels will conceal the intervening areas of the uncovered basiclayer from view at normal eye level from in front of the building; eachof said panels comprising a plurality of block units disposed end-to-endand having at least a portion of their bases embedded in a shallow bedof mortar, the bottom portion of the unit being of a dimension in thedirection of the slope of the roof which is from approximatelyone-quarter to approximately one-half of the height of the unit, wherebyany necessary adjustment of the tilt of a unit in the direction of itsnarrow dimension to square it up with an adjacent unit may be effectedreadily with only a minor adjustment of the embedment of the base of theunit within the bed of mortar before setting, each block unit beingprovided with low embossments at each end of its bottom surfaceproviding feet for securement to the basic roof structure and adapted toafford a slight clearance between the intermediate span of the blockunit and the surface of the underlying basic structure, the footembossment at one end of said unit being of greater longitudinal extentthan that at the other end, whereby the unit may be fitted into ashorter than normal space by cropping the end thereof and stillretaining a useful length of foot.

3. A building roof construction sloping downwardly and forwardly towardthe eaves and comprising a basic water-resistant covering layer which initself is of a character affording normal protection against theelements but which may be of unsatisfactory appearance aesthetically;and, positioned thereon, additional roof covering structure comprising aplurality of substantially horizontally disposed panels extending intransverse directions intersecting the direction of slope of the roof,each panel comprising a wall of substantial vertical dimensions and saidpanels being spaced apart along the slope of the roof leaving uncoveredintervening areas of said basic covering layer; the spacing betweensuccessive panels being such that, taking into consideration the angleof slope of the roof and the height of the panels, the front faces ofsaid panels will conceal the intervening areas of the uncovered basiclayer from view at normal eye level from in front of the building; eachof said panels comprising a plurality of block units disposed end-to-endand each provided with short narrow supporting feet at each endproviding a slightly raised intermediate span, providing a narrow slitbetween the bottom surface of the block unit and the basic roof coveringlayer and extending horizontally for the major portion of the lateralextent of the span, the foremost panel being the eaves panel thussubject to be exposed to view from top to bottom including the outlet ofthe drainage slit, and a vertically extending portion of said roofstructure standing in front of said slit to conceal it from view but notto seriously restrict the discharge of water therefrom.

4. The roof construction as set forth in claim 3 in which saidvertically extending structural portion comprises a skirt formedintegrally with the lower front edge of each of the block unitscomprising the said eaves panel, said skirt extending downwardly beyondthe level of the eaves edges of the basic roof structure and alsospaced'forwardly from said edge.

5. The roof construction as set forth in claim 3 in which said verticalstructural portion comprises a gravel stop of conventional constructionprojecting upwardly from the eaves edge of the basic roof structure, andthe front edge of the applied eaves panel being accordingly spacedslightly rearwardly of said gravel stop to afiord flow from saiddrainage slit.

6. For use in a roof super-structure of the class described at the edgesthereof, a tile block of relatively narrow thickness as compared withits height, said block provided with low embossments at each end of itsbottom surface providing widely spaced feet for supporting it upon abasic roof surface, thus leaving a wide low clearance slit at the bottomof said block between the feet for drainage of water, said block alsobeing provided with a skirt along its forward bottom edge portion, saidskirt depending below the bottom surface of the major portion of saidblock including said feet, whereby to overlie the edge portion of theroof structure, and abutments at the ends of the bottom surface of theblock and being of slightly 8 V V greater inward extent than said skirtbut also extending somewhat below the said major portion, said abutmentsadapted to contact the edge of the basic roof structure to maintain theskirt space-d at a slight distance from the edge of said structure fordrainage discharge.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,981,327 11/1934Rimmer 52-97 2,270,538 1/1942 Tudington 52173 X 3,034,261 5/1962Hollmann et a1. 52-553 3,133,377 5/1964 Jackson 5224 3,242,622 3/1966Snead 52-94 FOREIGN PATENTS 170,108 1/ 1952 Austria. 954,268 6/ 1949France. 63,673 4/1955 France.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

M. O. WARNECKE, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BUILDING ROOF CONSTRUCTION SLOPING DOWNWARDLY AND FORWARDLY TOWARDTHE EAVES AND COMPRISING A BASIC WATER-RESISTANT COVERING LAYER WHICH INITSELF IS OF A CHARACTER AFFORDING NORMAL PROTECTION AGAINST THEELEMENTS BUT WHICH MAY BE OF UNSATISFACTORY APPEARANCE ESTHETICALLY;AND, POSITIONED THEREON, ADDITIONAL ROOF COVERING STRUCTURE COMPRISING APLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED PANELS EXTENDING INTRANSVERSE DIRECTIONS INTERSECTING THE DIRECTION OF SLOPE OF THE ROOF,EACH PANEL COMPRISING A WALL OF SUBSTANTIAL VERTICAL DIMENSIONS AND SAIDPANELS BEING SPACED APART ALONG THE SLOPE OF THE ROOF LEAVING UNCOVEREDINTERVENING AREAS OF SAID BASIC COVERING LAYER; THE SPACING BETWEENSUCCESSIVE PANELS BEING SUCH THAT, TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE ANGLEOF SLOPE OF THE ROOF AND THE HEIGHT OF THE PANELS, THE FRONT FACES OFSAID PANELS WILL CONCEAL THE INTERVENING AREAS OF THE UNCOVERED BASICLAYER FROM VIEW AT NORMAL EYE LEVEL FROM IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING; EACHOF SAID PANELS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF BLOCK UNITS DISPOSED END-TO-ENDAND EACH PROVIDED WITH SHORT NARROW SUPPORTING FEET AT EACH ENDPROVIDING A SLIGHTLY RAISED INTERMEDIATE SPAN, PROVIDING A NARROW SLITBETWEEN THE BOTTOM SURFACE OF THE BLOCK UNIT AND THE BASIC ROOF COVERINGLAYER AND EXTENDING HORIZONTALY FOR THE MAJOR PORTION OF THE LATERALEXTENT OF THE SPAN FOR WATER DRAINAGE, SAID END SUPPORTING FEET RESTINGDIRECTLY UPON SAID BASIC LAYER, AND BEDS OF MORTAR APPLED WITHINPORTIONS OF SAID NARROW SLIT TO SECURE THE BLOCK TO THE BASIC LAYER,SAID SLIT THUS SERVING THE DUAL PURPOSE OF PROVIDING FOR DRAINAGE ANDFOR THE ANCHORING OF THE BLOCK WITH THE FEET MAKING DIRECT CONTACT WITHTHE BASIC LAYER.